Once Upon A Time
by lovelyships
Summary: My take on how I feel things between Violet and Tate would go after Afterbirth. Violet stumbles upon a scene in the attic which leads her to question her decision to send Tate out of her life all those years ago. (I'm absolutely terrible at summaries... it's better than it sounds, if I do say so myself.) Oneshot.


Violet exhaled, watching the smoke drift from between her lips to the open air as it ascended higher into the sky, before it disappeared completely.

She had perched herself upon the brick ledge that was just outside of the house's front door hours ago. This was where she liked to go whenever she needed a break from the madness that was her after-life.

Rolling the lit cigarette between her index finger and thumb, feeling the coarse texture of the paper , she stared past the iron-wrought gates of the house.

This was where she wished she could be. She imagined being free, being able to go beyond the gates that forever enforced the boundaries of where she had to stay. She imagined new companionship. She imaged a new life for herself. She imagined growing older, sometimes, as well. The thoughts were torture, sure, but she deserved as much for allowing herself to die here.

She was trapped, forced to live in the house she had died in at the youthful age of 16.

There were other ghostly inhabitants in the house as well; Violet had distanced herself from the majority of them long ago.

Even her own mother and father, whom she had been on good terms with after they'd all died, acknowledged her existence less and less. In the beginning, they put on a good façade for themselves, believing they could be the perfect family they'd always dreamed of being. As time passed, Violet came to the realization that they weren't, in fact, fixed since they never talked about their problems. She didn't want to be fake like her parents.

Violet had a younger brother called Jeffery, permanently trapped in the infant stage of life.

He had died moments after her mother had brought him into the world.

Her weak parents doted on Jeffery constantly. They scrounged around for any kind of toys or books for the baby that they could find. Even on Halloween, the _one_ day a year during which the spirits were free to leave the house, her parents had gone shopping for endless amounts of supplies the baby needed. At first, she understood. As years went by, however, that understanding turned to resentment when they stopped talking to her aside from passing niceties. Then, even that turned to extreme dislike and avoidance. Her parents were clueless, though.

There were only a few spirits in the house she bothered talking to anymore.

One of them was called Thaddeus, who resided permanently in the basement of their home. Violet was terrified of Thaddeus after their first encounter, when another spirit in the house recruited Thaddeus to scare off a bully that was giving Violet hell (while Violet was still alive, of course). After dying for the first time, though, Violet no longer feared the concept of death. She could die again, yes, but she would be up and walking just minutes later.

Thaddeus had killed her a few times in the beginning. He was a naturally distrustful soul who hadn't really dealt with new company in decades. The majority of the spirits in the house had even seen him as a hideous monster due to his appearance. Violet had slowly but surely broken down Thaddeus' walls, and now she would travel to the basement constantly to visit her friend. She saw that he was a kind soul at heart. She saw that he had never known evil or malice in his life. It hurt her to see how mistreated he was. Thaddeus could speak very few words, so he didn't talk much. Violet knew, though, that the feelings of caring and trust were mutual. Thaddeus would often rush over to her when he saw her figure amble down the basement stairs, embracing her in some version of a hug. She would sit down cross-legged on the cold basement floor. The two would often roll a ball back and forth. Sometimes, Violet and Thaddeus would play hide-and-seek within the walls of the large basement. Thaddeus always managed to find her, though, because he'd been living there for the entirety of his afterlife.

Another soul Violet loved was called Beau. Much like Thaddeus, Beau was severely disfigured. Like Thaddeus, as well, he resided only in the attic. She would climb the wooden ladder leading to the attic once she had finished playing with Thaddeus. She shared her time with them equally.

Beau always bounded out from the shadows at her, screaming "Play!" Violet would usually laugh in reply, and the two would usually play with a rubber ball Beau loved. When her idiotic parents weren't looking, she would steal books from their so-called "Infant Library" and read to Beau. She would teach him words. She would teach him how to speak certain phrases. Beau would usually snuggle into her side as she read out loud, occasionally voicing his contentment through one or two words that he could say.

Violet found happiness in the company of these two spirits. She was never a cheerful person, but these spirits would make her smile daily. They were the only source of happiness in her existence. It was like when she was around them, she transformed into this loving, almost-motherly figure. They loved her and she loved them. They also never nagged her about how quiet she was, or how smoking wasn't good for her body (which she knew, and thought about quitting, but realized since she was already dead there wasn't much that could affect her now).

Moira, another spirit in the house, would often remind her of the dangers of smoking because she cared so much about her; Moira was another constant in Violet's life as well.

Beau and Thaddeus never urged her to socialize more with others, because they were pariahs themselves. They never treated her cruelly.

They also never raped her mother.

Violet sighed from her position on the brick ledge as she thought about the boy who had wrecked her heart all those years ago.

Violet wasn't sure exactly positive how much time had passed since the found out every evil deed the 'love of her life' had committed. She didn't even want to give the life-ruiner a name in her head. Using his name made him all the more _real._ Using his name brought back memories Violet didn't want to visit.

It had to have been over a decade. About 18 Halloweens had passed since she had told the spirit who wrecked her family to go away.

(There wasn't exactly a necessity for keeping track of time and its passing anymore. Eternity was just comprised of one long _today, _after all, in the words of Moira. Years were marked in Halloweens, since that was the only day that truly mattered anymore.)

She extinguished her cigarette on a brick next to her left leg and flicked it into the garden.

It may have seemed careless, but she knew Marcy would clean it up at some point as she had before. She also knew Marcy would assume it was a teenager coming here as the result of a dare, so she wasn't worried. Although it had been over a decade since the house had its last living owners, Marcy still tried to sell the house. The only reason the house was even standing was because the people who funded the _Eternal Darkness Tour_ which passed by every day would give Marcy money to keep it up and running because it was good for their business.

Violet hopped off of her perch with a _thump_, her converse hitting the brick floor below, and walked back inside the house.

She decided she was going to go upstairs and play with Beau again because she had nothing else to do except mope around, and she felt she had fulfilled her quota of moping for the day.

She was surprised to see the wooden ladder was already pulled down. Nevertheless, she climbed it, the wood cool and rough against her hands. If someone else was up there, so be it. She wasn't scared of anything.

She was about to shout out to Beau that she was back to play, when her eyes widened at the scene in front of her.

_He_ was playing with Beau.

Okay, she wasn't expecting that at all.

Beau was laughing, squealing "Tate," "Tate," "Tate," as _he _roughhoused with Beau.

Tate—she swallowed almost audibly at thinking of his name—was grinning a grin that lit up his eyes as Beau tried to pin him to the floor. Tate mussed up Beau's hair, distracting his brother, before rolling out from under him. Tate stood up, shifting his weight from side to side as a wrestler would do. His back was now facing Violet, and she couldn't help relaxing a bit that he hadn't spotted her yet.

Beau ran for Tate, but Tate dodged him at the last minute, letting out a genuine laugh as Beau grabbed at air.

Violet silently made her way into the room, hiding behind an abandoned bookshelf. She felt herself drawn to the scene. This total, complete happiness seemed so out-of-character for Tate. She wondered how someone like him, with so much evil rooted deeply inside of him, could possibly have the capacity to love anyone at all. It sure as hell seemed like he loved Beau.

She was entirely silent and the boys didn't hear her… until all of a sudden, she was spotted. Beau was just about to corner Tate when his eyes moved to her crouched figure.

He screamed out "Violet," jovially, and that's when she remembered he was unaware of the history between his brother and her.

**Shit.**

She immediately turned herself invisible as Tate whipped himself around to see who Beau was screaming at.

Any trace of happiness in his face was now gone completely, even though he couldn't see her.

She didn't appear, allowing herself to feel somewhat hurt at his reaction towards her name.

Beau blinked, confused, and then uttered out a "Violet?"

Tate sat down, heaving out a sigh.

"I wish she was here, too, Beau," Tate spoke up.

Violet's heart lurched as she heard Tate's voice for the first time in over a decade.

Beau let out a noise that sounded like an inquiry about Tate's statement. He must have been wondering how Tate knew her.

"Story time?" Tate questioned, stretching his arm out to beckon Beau closer.

Beau nestled into Tate's side quickly, and Tate gave him a small smile. Beau nodded his head rapidly, saying "princess".

Violet was intrigued. _This should be interesting._

Tate laughed a bit, rolling his eyes and agreeing to make it into a princess story.

It still astounded Violet how Tate's demeanor changed completely when he was around Beau.

"Once upon a time," Tate began, hesitating, and Beau egged him on.

"I'm shit at telling stories, so sorry in advance," Tate chuckled.

"Once upon a time, there was… a _beautiful_ princess named Violet. The princess didn't realize how beautiful and amazing she was, though. The princess' parents, King Ben and Queen Vivien, never really bothered to tell her. They were too busy taking care of themselves and the kingdom, so she grew up thinking she wasn't worthy of being a princess. One day, they decided to move to a different castle. King Ben and Queen Vivien had a lot of shitty stuff to work through, and they figured moving to a different castle would somehow help. It only took the princess away from everything she'd gotten to know, though, so it hurt her even more," Tate let out a breath, then continued.

"Once upon a time, in a castle not too far away, there was a servant named Tate. Tate had a sucky life himself. Tate's parents never cared about him and they ignored him, unless they were yelling at him about how much he sucked at being a servant and how he had 'potential to be better'. The servant was pushed to his limits and his parents didn't notice or care. Tate learned to deal with his problems in ways that would hurt him a lot, but they would numb the pain he felt inside. He got more and more messed up as time went on, but his parents were too selfish to notice. Tate began to see the kingdom as a terrible place. He didn't understand the concept of happiness because he'd never been happy before. When he, uh, banished others from the kingdom, he felt like he was doing them a service. He thought that anywhere outside the kingdom was a better place. He didn't realize that banishing them was wrong, or that it hurt their families," Tate looked like he was going to cry any second, but Beau didn't really notice.

Violet wasn't sure how much longer she could listen to the story. Listening to his (admittedly messed up, but then, he'd never had anyone to show him that it was messed up) reasoning, and all the pain he must have felt, made her mind drift to her decision to cut him out of her life completely.

She knew it was partly for her family, but what allegiance did she even have towards them anymore? Even Moira, who constantly criticized her in the hopes of helping her out through tough love, would understand.

Was she _ready_ to forgive him? Was it even _possible _to forgive him?

She was feeling her steely resolve crumble and she hated it.

"He eventually got banished from the kingdom, but he was forced to stay in the castle he used to work in for always. He could never go out into the kingdom. That was his banishment. His boss Nora was banished to the castle too. Nora treated him better than his parents. Tate wanted to help Nora in any way he could. Still, though, he was never happy and he grew to hate himself and the stupid castle he lived in," Tate sighed.

Violet knew exactly how that felt.

"Then, the princess and her parents chose Tate's castle to move into. They didn't know about Tate the Banished Servant or any of the other banished servants who also lived there. The banished servant saw Princess Violet and immediately the first thing he did was smile. The servant, someone who had never smiled in his life, actually smiled because of how beautiful she was. King Ben found out about the servant and told Princess Violet to avoid him, which made Tate angry. Meanwhile, Nora told Tate that she wanted something that she could _only_ get if the servant hurt Queen Vivien. The servant wanted to help his boss, though, because she was all he had really ever known. No one found out about how he hurt Queen Vivien and eventually he started talking to the princess again. Tate didn't really know how to talk to princesses like her, though, so he said a lot of stupid and insensitive shit. For some odd reason, though, Princess Violet grew to like the servant. She showed him what it meant to care about someone. She showed him what it felt like to love someone unconditionally. She showed him that maybe, just maybe, he could be worthy of being her prince. The Banished Servant Tate finally found something that made his banishment to the castle less of a punishment; it was her. He found himself wanting to tell the princess of everything he had done because he felt bad and he wanted to change. Still, though, he was scared. He knew if he told her everything, she would hate him and he didn't want that. So he kept it all a secret," A tear escaped the corner of Tate's eye and it began to roll down one of his now-red cheeks. Beau didn't notice. Tate didn't bother wiping it away.

"One day, Princess Violet found out about everything. She found about all the people he had banished and about how he hurt her mom Vivien. She hated him. She hated him, and you know what? He deserved it because he was such a bad person. Tate then realized that he could never be Princess Violet's prince because he could never deserve her after everything he had done. Princess Violet sent him away for always," Tate ran a hand through his hair, tugging as it got caught in a knot formed out of his blond hair.

"Tate wanted to change, though, so he did. He set things right with Queen Vivien and King Ben, who had finally chosen to forgive him about 7 years after he did what he did. Tate went around to each of the people he had hurt, allowing them to hurt him back the same way he had hurt them all those years ago. He even went out of the castle when he was allowed and apologized to the people outside of the castle who he had banished. They all beat Servant Tate up pretty badly," Tate chuckled, and it was then that Violet noticed the healing scar on Tate's leg.

Wait, what the hell?

Did Tate allow the Dead Breakfast Club to hurt him willingly? Did he apologize and acknowledge what he'd done? Did he help them cross over?

And wait, hold up, her parents had seriously forgiven him? Why hadn't they alerted Violet about this? They knew how much she used to love Tate… They knew and they didn't tell her the only information she would have considered valuable.

Of course, they were probably too busy with darling baby Jackson to tell her themselves. Violet made a mental note to confront her parents about the matter.

"Still, though, Servant Tate let them do it without fighting back. He deserved it. He also acknowledged what he did to them. Tate helped them move on, finally, to that better place he had always wanted them to be in. He felt better, and he knew doing that for himself was a step in the right direction. The only person who never forgave him was Princess Violet. He had faith though. He hoped that maybe someday Princess Violet could see what a different person he was. He hoped someday Violet could look at him without disgust in her eyes. He knew that he'd always love her, so if she ever wanted to open her heart up to him again he'd be gentle with it," Tate exhaled, turning to look at Beau. Somewhere during the story, Beau had fallen asleep against Tate's shoulder.

Violet blinked back the tears that were seconds away from cascading down her cheeks.

Composing herself, she vanished from the attic.

"Were you ever going to tell me about forgiving Tate?" Violet wasted no time beating around the bush with her parents.

"Violet, don't raise your voice in front of the baby," Ben scorned. Violet rolled her eyes. That _would_ be the first thing they'd say to her in years.

Vivien, however, turned to face her daughter, heat rising to her cheeks. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before replying, choosing her words very carefully.

"We came to the understanding that although what he did is absolutely unforgivable, it's in everyone's best interest to leave the past in the past. He really wanted to make amends with us, Vi. He said he was going to try to make peace with everyone who he'd wronged, and I thought that was a very noble thing to do. I'm past the point in my life where I want to scorn people. I'm past the point of holding grudges, and I'm just ready to accept the fact that he seems to genuinely want to be a better person," Vivien tried to explain.

"Time just got away from us, Vi. Taking care of a baby is a full-time job. It's very taxing on the body and the mind," Ben continued.

Violet rose her hand to cut Ben off before he could get into the psychological aspects of taking care of a baby and _blah blah blah_.

"But you knew that he made me happy. You knew that he used to be the one source of positivity in my life and after you made this life-changing decision, instead of going to find me, you went back to give Jeffery a diaper change? You didn't even think of telling me?" Violet was infuriated now.

"Sweetheart," Vivien began uneasily.

"It was wrong of us to do. We're incredibly sorry about not telling you. However, I think it'd be best if you go away for the moment, dear, so you can calm down," Ben spoke, suddenly forceful.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Violet bit back right before she disappeared.

Violet sat in her room alone, blasting Morrissey from her laptop. She had to process a lot of information she'd been given that day.

Thankfully, no one came to tell her to turn the music down.

She's pretty sure she would have ripped someone's head off if they even went _near_ her damn door.

Even the loud music blaring from her speakers didn't drown out her thoughts.

Was she truly ready to forgive him?

She thought back to seeing Tate and Beau in the attic. She could literally feel her pent-up anger melting. Everyone else had seemed to forgive him. **Check.**

Could he honestly change?

He already was changing though, wasn't he? He was apologizing to everyone. Also, there weren't any new spirits in the house, despite the slew of owners and kids acting on dares that came through here. That meant he was controlling his violent impulses well. **Check.**

Did she still love him?

Violet didn't have to think twice about the answer. She made up her mind about what she was going to do now.

Violet traversed down to the first level of the house, looking through the window in the kitchen at the backyard. There he was, sitting on the ledge of the wooden gazebo, his back turned to her.

The moon was beginning its trek across the nighttime sky, leaving a soft glow in its wake.

His back was, again, to her.

She walked outside quietly, praying to whatever higher power that existed that he wouldn't hear her as she walked towards him.

She noticed that his usual air of brooding and negativity was back, and she almost smiled because she was wondering where that characteristic side of him had gone. He may have been a dark, gloomy soul but he was _her_ dark, gloomy soul, and although she adored watching him smile as he played with Beau, she was happy he held many of the same characteristics as the boy she had fallen in love with all those excruciatingly long years ago.

When she got close enough, just at the beginning of the gazebo, she spoke in a soft tone.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess," Violet began, and Tate turned around so fast Violet was sure he was going to fall right off that ledge.

He didn't, though. Instead, he stood up. He was much taller than she was, but for the first time, she didn't find that intimidating. His eyes looked straight into hers, and even though night was settling around them, she could still see the expression on his face. He seemed shocked, and she could detect a hint of embarrassment written in the way he crossed his arms after her line. Obviously he hadn't known she was listening in on his little monologue earlier until this moment in time.

"The princess fell in love with a servant, but the servant felt he didn't deserve her. He'd done a lot of horrible things in his past, and once the princess found out, she was shocked. She tried to maintain a semblance of disdain and disgust for her family. The servant changed his ways over time, though, not that that would have affected the princess' feelings in any way," she spoke timidly, and Tate cast his eyes downward.

The moment of truth had arrived and Violet knew Tate was expecting the worst.

"Violet," Tate let her name roll off his tongue for the first direct address they'd had in years. He was about to volunteer to disappear, she knew, so Violet shushed him.

"Tate, listen," she spoke quietly.

When he gave her a tiny nod to assure her he'd heard, she continued speaking, her voice growing stronger.

"The princess, even throughout everything they'd been through, still loved the servant with all her heart and all her soul. As it turns out, he wasn't just any old servant to her," she continued, walking closer to Tate with every word.

Violet could see Tate's cheeks burn red. His gaze found hers and locked on with such intensity Violet felt as though she might burst. Tate still said nothing, but the look on his face was now extremely different than it had been moments ago.

Violet was now standing directly in front of Tate. She angled her head up so she could still maintain eye-contact.

"He was her prince."

Violet reached out and grasped one of Tate's shaking hands, stroking her thumb over his palm. His hands grabbed hers, squeezing tightly, and pulled her even closer to him.

A soft smile graced Tate's face. His eyes stared down into hers with what could only be described as unadulterated adoration as he took in the full meaning of what Violet had just told him.

Violet stood up on her tip-toes so she could _almost_ reach his lips.

Tate chuckled quietly at her short stature before craning his neck downwards.

The instant their lips connected, both felt as though the weight of the world was lifting off their shoulders. Tate let go of Violet's hands, instead wrapping them around her waist as his warm lips moved tenderly against hers. She tangled her arms around his neck, grasping the blonde hair at the nape of his neck as she pulled him closer.

She could hear crickets chirping their sweet harmonies all around them as night fell.

She became aware of his loud, thudding heartbeat as she felt his chest press against hers and how his heartbeat matched time with her own.

In an attempt to control her deep breathing, she caught a scent that was pure _Tate_ and nothing else in this world, because he didn't use cologne (he always thought it was tacky and unoriginal). This, of course, didn't help her control her now-erratic breathing at all.

He pulled her upwards so her feet were off the cold, wooden floor of the gazebo, twirling her around in the air.

His unbelievably soft lips pressed against hers with such ardor, such _need_, as he let out little whispers of "My Violet," which were somewhat muffled by her lips, but still comprehensible. Violet could feel the beginnings of a genuine smile stretch across her face.

She almost reattached her lips to his once he pulled away, but he pressed his forehead against hers almost immediately. At this point, any form of contact would do. They'd been separated too long _not_ to engage in some form of contact.

He slowly fluttered his eyes open, moving a slightly-calloused hand to her warm cheek.

She looked on in admiration at his appearance. His blonde hair was now slightly tousled, his cheeks a brilliant red. One of the most enticing details of his appearance, however, was his wet, cherry-red lips, which glistened in the glow of the soft moonlight. He truly looked like a prince. _My prince, _Violet almost swooned in her head, but swooning is stupid, so she tried not to. She failed.

She suspected her appearance was similar due to his slow intake of breath as he fully opened his eyes to look at her.

"So, what comes next?" She was the first to speak, cocking a playful eyebrow at the boy in front of her. She spoke tenderly, quietly, as though she didn't want to ruin the moment by raising her voice to a normal tone.

"Happily ever after, of course," Tate now donned a full-blown smile as he leaned into Violet once more.


End file.
